Carlsberg don’t do pubs, but if they did it would probably be a hell of a lot better than this!
The name Oxford, which has brought us a prestigious university, the premier English language dictionary and a well-known street on the monopoly board, also brings you the most boring pub in the world!
The Oxford Bar on Edinburgh’s Young Street has shot to fame by being the watering hole of Detective Inspector John Rebus of Ian Rankin’s detective novels. This is a typical no nonsense spit and sawdust pub full of real ale and old men. Bearing this in mind you would be forgiven for expecting pints to be cheap as chips. However you would be disappointed (as pints are priced at the average town price) and this is not the only thing that disappoints. Allow me to explain.
This place totally lives on its name with tourists pitching up at the bar expecting to see Ian Rankin and then are presumably shocked that A - he isn’t there, and B how dull the pub is. So dull in fact that I wouldn’t be surprised if this was where Rankin came up with the concept for his detective series as there is nothing else to do there.
There is a TV in the bar area which is normally glued to Sky Sports News, however the bar area is so small that you normally have to sit in the seating area behind the bar which also has a TV but I’ve never seen it on. The pints are average but as afore mentioned slightly expensive particularly as there is no entertainment, a terrible choice of stale pies as an excuse for food, and no women under the age of 40!
So to sum up if you want a few expensive pints in a place with no atmosphere in the company of dull old men then come on down. Personally I’d go along the road to the Cambridge where at least you get a decent burger.
 |
| This is Rebus's local - no wonder he always looks so miserable! |
No comments:
Post a Comment